A rivalry with great history — but one that has not been played in nearly a decade — resumes at Notre Dame Stadium Saturday night, when #3 Notre Dame and 2-0 Michigan State collide in the “Battle for the Megaphone”

Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman understands his players may not be aware of the history and significance of this game, so he’ll be in teaching mode this week.

“If you’re playing for a rivalry trophy, you have to know why and the history behind it or why even play it,” notes the fifth-year Irish head coach. There’s actually a physical reward. This one has the megaphone. It’s our job to make sure they’re educated about the rivalry.”

The two teams have not played since an Irish victory in 2017, but Michigan State won its last visit to Notre Dame Stadium back in 2016. A lot has changed in the Spartans program since then, with former Northwestern boss Pat Fitzgerald assuming the helm.

“They’re physical, they’re tough, they don’t mess up…they have Pat Fitzgerald’s DNA written all over them,” states Freeman. “They’re going to be tough. They’re going to be confident. They’re going to play the game hard. We understand the challenge and we’re going to prepare that way.”

Fitzgerald also shares great admiration for the Irish. “We’re playing an outstanding opponent. They’re incredibly talented across the board. CJ (Carr) is a Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback. Their defense is physical and violent at each level. First-round corner (Leonard Moore), potentially the first pick of the draft. They’ve got talent everywhere.”

“We have to play to our standard for four quarters of football, and we still have not done that yet,” continued Fitzgerald. “That will be our focus as we embark on this week. The rest of the stuff is just outside noise and can lead you to being on social media too much, and then your algorithm gets screwed up.”

Fitzgerald knows all about beating Notre Dame. He did as both a player (1995) and coach (2014) at Northwestern.

Game time at Notre Dame Stadium is just after 7:30 pm Saturday. Chuck and Ang preview the game Monday night on Notre Dame Federal Credit Union’s Irish Football Fix at 7 p.m. on Pulse FM (92.1, 96.9, 103.1)